WASHINGTON – Colleen Mullen stepped foot on Rhode Island’s campus in 1998 as a student-athlete on the women’s basketball team, playing with the Rams for two seasons. The moment has come full circle now in 2026, as Mullen prepares for her first campaign as the head coach of the Rhode Island women’s basketball program.
Mullen has spent each of the last eight seasons at UAlbany, where she reeled off four consecutive 20-win seasons and was named the 2025 America East Coach of the Year. Prior to her time at Albany, she served as Army’s associate head coach for seven seasons.
“When I chose to come to URI, they had just won a championship in 1996 and I committed to a championship program and I was really excited to be part of that,” Mullen told Field of 68’s Talia Goodman. “Having the opportunity, fast forward twenty-something years, to come back and finish what I started, feels really special. The program is in really good shape right now with their championships last year and what Tammi’s (Reiss) leadership did in the past. I feel very privileged, I’m grateful. It’s a huge opportunity, I’m very excited.”
Here is a look at the Rams:
Coach – Colleen Mullen - 1
st season
Last year- Rhode Island went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years. After earning a share of the A10 regular season title, Rhody bested Loyola Chicago, Davidson and George Mason to win the Betterment Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Tournament and punch a ticket to the Big Dance. With an NCAA Tournament loss to Alabama, the Rams ended the season with a 28-5 record and 16-2 A10 mark.
They’ll miss- Brooklyn Gray (12.3 ppg/5.2 rpg/41.1% FG/90.5% FT), Palmire Mbu (10.8 ppg/5.8 rpg/45.5% FG/52 blks), Albina Syla (9.2 ppg/7.1 rpg/53.8% FG)
Impact returners- Sophia Vital (7.7 ppg/5.4 rpg/43.9% FG/119 assts/62 stls), Amori Jarrett (returning from injury)
Newcomers of note- Delanie Hill (14 ppg/43.5% FG/88% FT @ UAlbany), Queen Ikhiuwu (13.2 ppg/7.6 rpg/47% FG @ Wofford), Amaya Stewart (12.2 ppg/5.1 rpg/47.5% FG @ UAlbany)
Reasons to be optimistic- For a new head coach, returning a player of Sophia Vital’s caliber is huge.
Mullen admits that year one has been a whirlwind, as expected for any coach, but Vital’s presence has helped instrumentally to continuing the standard she and her teammates helped create.
“When she decided to stay, it was building everything around Sophia,” analyzed Mullen. “She was a critical piece of the puzzle, sustaining the success they’ve had in the past, the continuity and experience with a championship mindset. Once she committed to staying, I just needed to get a great surrounding cast around her.”
Vital opted to stay for multiple factors, starting with the mechanical engineering degree that she wants to see through. Vital also spoke to Mullen on her vision for the future of this Rhode Island program and the two saw eye-to-eye on a championship culture and mindset.
Mullen also retained a trio of productive players from UAlbany: Delanie Hill, Amaya Stewart and Martina Borrellas.
Mullen expressed how deliberately Hill makes decisions and credited her ability to read defenses. At UAlbany, Hill had to create and facilitate her own offense after the team’s starting point guard went down with an injury. Now with Vital present, she can keep her hands up and ready for catch-and-shoot opportunities. She can also score at all three levels, making her even more effective at the offensive end.
“I’m really grateful that they decided to follow myself and the staff to Rhode Island after having a great experience at UAlbany,” stated Mullen. “They are three individuals who have unbelievably high character, are hardworking, understand my expectations, level of standard and just what we do. It certainly spoke volumes to me that they wanted to still be a part of our culture and how we do things.”
X Factor- Mullen views herself as a defensive-minded coach, emphasizing that her team needs to buy into the mentality of defense traveling. The Rams view rebounding as crucial to get into transition offense.
She expressed the importance for Rhode Island to remain disciplined, keep fighting, and display a high level of effort doing the little things.
“We’re going to be the toughest team in the league and try to lead the league in defense,” Mullen promised.
Circle the date- The season opens with a Nov. 3 contest against No. 24 West Virginia, an NCAA Tournament team from a year ago. The Mountaineers added a trio of players who excelled in the A10 last season: Alexis Bordas, Kennedy Harris and Zahirah Walton. Nov. 6 brings a matchup against WBIT champion Columbia. Nov. 14 URI faces St. John’s, another WBIT opponent. Dec. 10 Rhody meets Princeton, which went 26-4 last season to make the NCAA Tournament.
Bottom line- Rhode Island has built a talented roster in Mullen’s first year with the program. The Rams have compiled lots of momentum in recent years, and she hopes to keep moving that forward.
“There’s so much energy and excitement around this program,” she concluded. “We want to watch them create their new identity and get better every day to play our best basketball in March.”
Zac Weiss is a college athletics beat writer for Pittsburgh Sports Now, primarily reporting on Duquesne Athletics. Across his career, he has covered over 1,000 A10 sporting events.